Play Book Tag discussion

Playground by Richard Powers
5 stars + ♥

I am continuing my strong start to my 2025 reading year with Playground -- I loved it! But, with the marine theme, did anyone really question it?!

I will admit that it took me a hot minute to get my head wrapped around the four main characters and the timeline in which their story was told:
-- Evie is a marine biologist, growing up in Montreal before moving to the states to pursue undergraduate and graduate studies in marine ecology in the 1960s.
-- Todd and Rafi are high school and college friends in and around Chicago in the late 1980s/early 1990s, and we also have Todd's story and Rafi's story in the present day.
-- Ina is an army brat who grew up on bases throughout Oceania, and is an ecological artist living on the tiny island of Makatea in the present day.

We learn about these four characters whose lives all eventually converge on Makatea. I really don't want to say too much, because the story unfolds in such a beautiful way, and the ending just totally got me and left me in tears.

I will say that Evie was such a badass. Powers notes in the epilogue that she is inspired by the life of Sylvia Earle, who is equally a real life badass. I thought the story of her life was complex, ambitious, and subtly highlights how woman were (and, really, still are) treated differently than men in the sciences (or, really, any professional field).

I just fell in love with these complex characters. They had difficult childhoods, overcame obstacles, and, yet, were forever shaped by those early formative years. I absolutely loved the ending -- I need to do a little google research on it just to see what others thought -- even though I desperately wanted something different for the characters. But, sometimes that is just life. It unfolds and takes you on a path that is not the one others hope for you, or perhaps even one you want for yourself.

The real joy though was the story of ocean exploration and marine ecology, woven throughout the entire book to form a common love of all of the characters. Protecting the animals that live there, or simply finding peace surrounded by its vastness, was a part of each character.

I am riding the wave of great books, because I just don't think it can possible be sustained for much longer!

So glad to see you loved it too, Nicole!

Great review Nicole. I loved it too. I’m planning to read many more aquatic and environmental books this year. Wild Dark Shore is coming out in March.

NancyJ wrote: "Great review Nicole. I loved it too. I’m planning to read many more aquatic and environmental books this year. Wild Dark Shore is coming out in March."

I already have Wild Dark Shore on hold at the library and am hoping it gets to me quickly! I am very much looking forward to that one.

I'll wait to see both of your reviews. McConaghy has been hit or miss for me.